Jabil Shares Jump on Job Cuts

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (TheStreet) -- Electronics manufacturer Jabil Circuit(JBL Quote) plans to cut 4,500 employees as part of a revamped restructuring plan, expanding its prior estimate of 3,000 job cuts.

In a filing made with the SEC on Tuesday, Jabil explained that its restructuring will result in cash expenditures of approximately $57.4 million. Previously, Jabil had estimated and impact of $54 million over fiscal years 2009 and 2010.

The company's stock rose 92 cents, or 7.49%, to $13.20 in extended trading.

Jabil, which competes with Flextronics(FLEX Quote) and Sanmina-SCI(SANM Quote), also posted its fourth-quarter results after market close Tuesday.

The company earned 3 cents a share on net income of $5.5 million, down from 28 cents a share and $57.5 million in the same period last year. Excluding items, Jabil earned 16 cents a share, down from 30 cents a share in the prior year's quarter, but well above Wall Street's estimate of 8 cents a share.

Fourth-quarter revenue came in at $2.8 billion, compared to $3.3 billion for the same period in 2008. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast sales of $2.66 billion.

Despite the sharp drop in its fourth-quarter profit, Jabil struck a relatively bullish tone, saying that the worst of the recession appears to be over.

"Marked improvement in our sequential performance was aided by cost-cutting, increased productivity, market share gains and a more benign end-market environment," said Jabil CEO Timothy Main, in a statement.

-- Reported by James Rogers in New York